raknovel Chapter 79 Linem doesn't know.
Chapter 79 Linem doesn't know.
Chapter 79 Linem doesn't know.
"Lenem, how old are you?"
Nan An grabbed Sui Yue's clothes and tugged them back—his words were too blunt, clearly treating her like a child.
Suddenly, there was silence on the ladder. Suiyue swallowed hard, realizing she had said the wrong thing. She looked at Nan'an with pleading eyes, but all she got in return was a gesture of grabbing the bull's horns.
"Lenem—I should be—15 years old?"
The ambiguous tone made both Nan'an and Suiyue feel guilty for Linem.
A faint whisper came from above; Linem seemed to be muttering something to herself.
After a moment, her tone became more confident.
"I have 15 dolls, um, I'm 15 years old — they all say that once I have 30 dolls, Fairy Paradise Pare will open its doors to me — do you know Pare?"
Suiyue was completely baffled; she had never heard of it before.
She glanced at the old man and noticed his furrowed brow, so she quickly used a summoning ritual to inquire about his condition.
"Who is Pare?"
"A place where the cycle of life and death is severed, an eternal paradise that nurtures the fairy race." Nan'an introduced, "It is said that all fairies are born in Palei, and Palei equally endows every fairy with the power to be close to all things."
"At the end of the Gray Star Era, the legendary potion master Ibio of the Nora Continent created the first version of the [Common Language] potion through fairies. After taking it, one could temporarily overcome the barriers of language and writing — not long after, he disappeared."
"";
"Rumor has it that Ibio ascended to godhood and went to Pare through a universal language potion."
Suiyue asked, puzzled, "So, Pare, outsiders can also enter?"
"For non-fairy species, according to the myths I know, there should only be one way to enter—" Nan'an recalled, "die, and then wait for the fairy to guide you."
Most races in Nora share a similar concept of a golden land as Pare, but only in Pare's legends is there a description of "the cycle of life and death being severed".
Even if the reason given was to appease the child, the choice of Paley was far-fetched.
"Lenem doesn't seem to be very sensitive to age," Nanan asked tentatively.
"Uncle said that Linem needs to sleep a lot—as long as I'm asleep, the naughty fog will behave—so I often miss sunrise and sunset." Hesitatingly, Linem asked, "Outside the tower—is it the same as in the book?"
Linem seems to have a certain degree of verbal tic.
At first, she was able to restrain herself somewhat, but as the conversation progressed, she referred to herself as "Lenem" and repeated the word "Lenem" more frequently.
Furthermore, Linem lacks considerable experience in communicating with people, and when she is eager to follow a topic, she always speaks very quickly, as if she is afraid of not being able to effectively convey emotions and correct meaning.
When stuck on long and complex sentences, it always takes longer than usual for people to carefully consider the wording.
However, none of this is as shocking as the information revealed in Linem's conversation.
"You haven't left the tower?"
"Lenem has been in the tower since I can remember."
Suiyue was also shocked: "Can't we go out freely?"
"Everyone will scold Linem—and my uncle will hit me too."
Nan'an grabbed Suiyue's sleeve, stopping her surging emotions.
He took a deep breath and guided Linem.
Why did I hit you?
"It might have been Linem who did it. No—when Linem does something good, Uncle is always very gentle—when Linem was little, Uncle would always smile whenever he saw her."
Nanan's guess was correct; when Linem's emotions fluctuate drastically, her verbal tics become more severe.
Revealing her full name seemed to give her a greater sense of security—as if she wasn't alone?
Damn it, has the Leod family noticed that the child locked in the tower is showing signs of wanting to leave?
After weighing the pros and cons, Nan'an decided to leave first.
Continuing the conversation could very well have unforeseen consequences for Linem.
Before knowing the reasoning behind the Leode family's actions, he could not act rashly, nor could he make any promises to Linem that he could not keep.
"Are you leaving?"
Nan'an looked up suddenly.
He only had the thought, but hadn't said it aloud, let alone made any corresponding actions or expressions—was it a coincidence, or a prediction?
"I can sense that Nan'an wants to leave."
Nan'an did not respond. Through the summoning ritual, he conveyed the false message "we'll stay" to Suiyue, wanting to test the extent of Linem's perception.
"Lenem wouldn't do anything wrong, could you—could you wait a little longer—"
Linem's voice trembled.
"The lingering fog is still outside—Lenem promises she'll let you leave before you wake up."
Her description was subtle and inexplicable.
In any case, summoning rituals, as a communication channel, can serve a function of maintaining confidentiality.
For most of the day, Nan'an and Suiyue sat silently and somberly in the hall.
Deep within the black mist, Suiyue couldn't fall asleep carefree. Instead, she stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, counting the wood grain to pass the time.
It had fine patterns on it, and under the warm yellow wall lamp it gleamed softly, which was enough to pass the time—during the Dawn Church period, she did the same thing when she couldn't fall asleep during her afternoon nap.
Nan'an could always sense a subtle feeling of being watched, as if Linem was secretly observing him through some special channel.
After hesitating for a long time, he cleared his throat.
"Am I that good-looking?"
'
"Lenem didn't peek."
"So you did peek, didn't you?"
"Lenem—Lenem did nothing wrong."
"I didn't say you did anything wrong."
"So you'll let me hold you?"
Suiyue rolled over, lying on the ground and resting her chin on her hand: "Why are you so fixated on hugging Nan'an?"
"It's warm, like a campfire, burning," Linem replied immediately. "Unlike the nasty fog."
Suiyue then asked, "And what about me?"
"It's warm too — but not as warm as him."
Nan'an was pondering.
He felt that Linem's understanding of "temperature" was not the same as what they were discussing.
In Linem's judgment, he and Suiyue both seemed to be heat sources, but he was particularly conspicuous as a heat source and therefore more popular.
"Lenem, can you sense that I am a summoned creature?"
The voices upstairs became noticeably hesitant.
"Nan'an is a living, breathing person."
Suiyue chuckled: "That old man is from hundreds of years ago."
These words left Linem speechless for a long time before she awkwardly retorted.
"Lenem can sense temperature—"
When she tried to explain further, her voice suddenly stopped.
After a while, Linem exclaimed happily, "The wicked mist is gone!"
Nan'an looked in the direction of the sound—a crack had appeared in the wall of the tower at some point.
Through the gap, he saw the grayish-white mist receding into the distance like the receding tide.
Like rocks revealed when the tide recedes, the outline of the plains begins to emerge at the edge of the mist.
Linem cast a band of light that stretched to the horizon in the opposite direction of the receding tide.
Having waited for a long time without success, it lost patience.
"Hurry, it will come back."
At the end of the band of light, with one step, the softness covering their shoulders and the lightness beneath their feet vanished silently.
Nan'an turned around sharply, only to find the tower gradually disappearing as the surging fog attacked from all sides.
It was as if the canvas had been smeared, leaving not a single trace.
"What happened to her—" Suiyue swallowed hard, then changed her mind, "Is Linem alright?"
Nan'an was also somewhat confused at this moment. As his thoughts raced, a clear bell sound from afar unexpectedly entered their ears, as if it came from a very distant place, or as if it was gently ringing in their ears.
"Ring ring ring~~~"
Nan'an and Suiyue both looked in the direction of the sound.
After leaving the band of light, they found themselves in a vast, empty field.
The surrounding area consists of gently rolling hills covered with withered yellow grass.
The grass grew to knee height, motionless in the still air, like a frozen painting, as if the whole world were asleep.
In the distance, there are several twisted old trees, their bare branches stretching towards the gray-white sky, like ink stains forgotten on the edge of a canvas.
A telephone booth stands alone among old trees.
The ringtones rang steadily, one after another.
Nan'an looked at Suiyue.
"Don't you feel like answering the phone?"
"Uh—" Suiyue poked her chin with her index finger, "If I had to say, it would be that it was mainly out of curiosity."
The "impulse" reported by the Fog Breakers was not reflected in the two individuals.
Telephone booth, a standard millennium design.
The circular buttons mentioned in the report have Arabic numerals where a few should be, but a few are in Nora, and the rest are incomprehensible scribbles in Nan'an, with no clear meaning.
I always felt that it was missing something as a phone booth —
After circling around a few more times, Nan'an suddenly realized what was going on.
How could we not have a little guy?
The unsightly posters plastered on the pavilion and the phone numbers scrawled crookedly with water-based pens are also part of the experience.
I really miss it. I only saw Nan'an once when I was a child.
As you grow a little older, the telephone booth becomes an ancient relic that makes you feel dazed just by hearing about it.
It's clearly only been a little over ten years.
As is customary, Nan'an brought out the Wind Velvet Grass Crystal, which was so green it was unsettling, and the reactions of gods and demons were obvious.
The fact that the phone booth doesn't belong to the type of deity or demon that could deceive the Windvelvet Crystal actually makes it seem innocent.
Nan'an was ready and reached for the microphone.
Pick up the microphone — "Click"
"Click click!!"
The phone booth shook violently, and the phone suddenly stopped ringing.
Nan'an exhaled a breath of stale air, looked at the telephone receiver that seemed to be welded to the pavilion, and couldn't help but tug at the telephone cord—it was elastic and movable.
"What's wrong?"
He took two steps back, stretched his arms, and decided to give it one last try. If it didn't work, he would dismantle the entire phone booth and detonate the fragments of the gods and demons.
Just as he reached out to take action, the phone booth moved.
The rusted metal base has carved two deep furrows into the withered grass.
The entire phone booth recoiled violently, like a startled creature, and then—
Whoosh!!
It began to glide.
The speed was extremely fast, and the glass in the four walls vibrated with a buzzing sound. The half-open door swayed back and forth with the movement, making a clanging sound.
It has a sense of direction and can choose its own path, avoiding those twisted old trees.
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